Travis Releford scored 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting, and the Kansas men's basketball team made free throws late to hold a lead in a 59-55 victory over Kansas State on Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.

KU (17-1, 5-0 Big 12) is in first place by itself in the conference after the win.

KSU (15-3, 4-1) pulled to within three at 56-53 with 37 seconds left on a layup by Shane Southwell.

Naadir Tharpe hit both ends of a one-and-one with 22 seconds left, then Rodney McGruder missed a desperation three with 18 seconds left.

McLemore missed the front end of a one-and-one, and McGruder made two free throws after getting fouled with 5 seconds left to cut KU's lead to 59-56.

Elijah Johnson was fouled with 3 seconds left and made the first free throw of a one-and-one attempt to seal it.

I live for Journal-World coverage of Jayhawk basketball. But after tonight's game, I thought ESPN got it right:

"Kansas and Kansas State rarely paint a masterpiece when they meet on the hardwood.

"The defensive-minded Jayhawks, with Travis Releford on the perimeter and Jeff Withey in the paint, make life miserable for opposing offenses, while the veteran Wildcats relish the chance to bump, bang and bludgeon foes on both ends of the court.

"Little surprise that they played another tough-as-nails game Tuesday night."

I can't get enough of Elijah, Kevin, Ben, Perry, Naadir, Jamari, Rio, Andrew, et al. Watching them play is simply joyous. But thank the man upstairs for Travis Releford on the perimeter and Jeff Withey in the paint, making life miserable for opposing offenses. Winning is good.

I love Kevin Young's hustle, but the last few games, he has certainly shown signs of why he was not a highly-touted recruit. Tonight, I counted a handful of really great, hardworking plays where he enabled KU to score or get the ball from KSU, but I also counted several completely terrible plays.

The most glaring was obviously his WTF shot/pass/lob to the 10-footer that he apparently saw on the court. If that was a shot, it was literally the worst I have ever seen in 20+ years of watching basketball. If it was a pass, it was a top-five worst I've ever seen. There was no explanation for it whatsoever.

He also missed 4 bunnies around the rim. Granted, he got his own rebound and scored for one of those shots, but for the other three, that's six points that KU should not have left on the table. It's the difference (all else being equal) between a double-digit win and a 4-point squeaker.

The silver lining here is that Perry Ellis is the heir apparent to Kevin Young's spot in the lineup, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, he has looked like a completely new player over the last 3-4 games. Maybe Kevin's gaffes are happening because he's seeing the writing on the wall and Ellis breathing down his neck to take his spot. While that worries me a little bit, I can't help but return to my early-season thinking that we are best served if Ellis is starting and Kevin Young is coming off the bench to "lead" the second unit. Maybe the uncertainty--or the impending change that seems to be coming--is contributing to Kevin's erratic play...

Of course, Ellis needs to hit his free throws a bit more consistently, but that doesn't worry me. He seems to have a knack for scoring and nice form, so the free throws will come. I'm so excited about his new sense of aggressiveness and tenacity. He didn't have great numbers in today's game, but he inserted himself in the thick of the action and made a couple of really good plays. He also seems to be showing improved hands--earlier in the season, I felt like he had the tendency to bobble the ball as it was coming to him on passes, but he caught a couple of really difficult passes tonight. I have a feeling that he will be a huge asset come tournament time.

march,
Perhaps fatigue has something to do with KY's performance? Read that Withey got some IV during the half. All starters played 30+ mins Sat (add traveling time to/from Texas and to Manhattan). It is easy for us to say from our couch that two full days at home should be plenty to recover, but if you travel for job, that makes it a Iooong four days. I agree KY made some "bonehead" plays, but he also contributed. Also wonder how his physical makeup do under fatigue vs. TRob with muscle mass. Withey is thin like KY and took IV. If my memory serves me right, EJ walked to take the ball in early in the second half? He didn't appear to have much energy. When body is tired, it is more prone to injuries and the coordination goes south. I enjoy watching KY, and believe he will be making some awesome plays come in March. Hope the starters get their much needed rest this week. RCJHKU!

I have a hard time attributing Young's performance to fatigue because he had some pretty bad plays right from the get-go. Maybe the travel played into that, but that can't be an excuse, or this team will see an early exit from the tournament.

You are absolutely correct that he made some great plays as well. His putback of his own miss was fantastic, and he also had a really good couple of passes.

Don't get me wrong--I'm not suggesting that Young shouldn't be playing or that he's terrible, but I think his abilities are much more suited to someone coming off the bench and providing energy and some offensive versatility so that he doesn't have to press.

The purple emaws are an interesting group. The ones who don't live that close to Lawrence are excited for anything that moves and I mean that in the best of ways. Once the NCAA tourney comes and their team is out they'll make sure to watch every Kansas game. Not necessarily clapping and jumping, but still enjoying. This is why the Purples can never be Mizzou as bad as the twelve KSU fans in Lawrence may want it to happen.

Some of us secretly hoped they would beat Baylor even if it went against what might be better for Weis's KU's football program's recruiting in the longrun... Some of them secretly hoped we would beat Kentucky. Many KU fans could care less about KSU, not in a bad way, wouldn't have ever known who they were without being bugged about a shirt they were wearing. Not a single KSU fan doesn't know who KU is. Not that it matters. It's just there's only one flagship institution and I guess since we don't have Washington DC in our state it gives them something to get fired up about.

It'll be interesting to see how Weber deals with this group in a couple years. You can still see Frank's mentality in their squad a bit like Self's signature was stamped into that 2005 Illinois team.